Scotland, for the first time, made it onto the 2008 Country Brand Index (CBI) as an individual country, published this week, due to the strength of its brand and identity as a visitor attraction.

Although it did not feature in the overall top 10 country brands, it did rank eighth for natural beauty, sixth for friendly locals and 10th for outdoor activities and sports. Scotland has previously only featured as part of the UK. The UK featured number eight in the top 10 country brands, with Australia taking the top spot for the third consecutive year. The UK also ranked sixth for history, arts and culture, ease of travel and quality of products, seventh for inspiring the desire to visit/re-visit and ninth for nightlife and shopping.

A CBI spokesperson said: "The UK is well thought out and executed brand that effectively utilises all of the natural and cultural resources of the country". The CBI examines how countries are branded and ranked according to key criteria, and identifies emerging global trends in travel and tourism, which according to the report accounts for US$5.9tn (£3.9tn, €4.6tn) of worldwide economic activity this year (9.9 per cent of the global GDP), and more than 238 million jobs.

CBI evaluates 2,700 international business and leisure travellers from nine countries. The survey is conducted by consultancy FutureBrand, in conjunction with public relations firm Weber Shandwick's Global Travel & Lifestyle Practice. Rina Plapler, senior executive director of FutureBrand, told Leisure Opportunities: "The reason for Scotland being classified as its own country, when it is part of the UK, is that it has developed a strong brand of its own. We have not decided whether we will feature it as part of the UK next year or break the UK into Wales, Northern Ireland, England and Scotland. "

The report identified a number of emerging trends including a shift in the countries that are experiencing tourism growth. In terms of regional performance, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Middle East are experiencing higher growth rates than the world average 4 per cent, at 5.9 per cent, 5.7 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively. While the mature markets – notably the Americas and Europe – are falling below the world average, with growth of 2.1 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively. Although growth is expected to slow in 2008, the reports forecast to date points to a 3 per cent GDP growth of the global travel and tourism economy, creating six million additional jobs worldwide.

Specialised niche travel is also on the rise. These include an increase in women travelling without men and in groups, comprising over half of adventure travellers worldwide, as well as a rise in visits to places environmentally at risk or of religious significance such as the Vatican and lastminute short breaks. The highest ranking among the changes for 2008 is that citizens are becoming more vocal about their countries brands to propel tourism, from branding efforts, to logos, to key messaging.

Plapler said: "In this our fourth year, it is exciting to see many countries embracing the idea of brand. However, we still feel this is a largely underdeveloped category with most countries continuing to promote and market themselves in ways that are not differentiated. Particularly in the coming years, country brands must improve both their strategic orientation as well as their delivery." Details: countrybrandindex.com